Sitting among the audience at the circus, I watched as the performance came to an end, my (e/c) eyes wide with delight. Standing up, I clapped loudly along with the rest of the crowd before slowly made my way out of the tent. Once outside the large tent, I looked around, seeing if I could find any of my friends.

Instead of seeing one of the people I knew, I saw a pair of the newer faces. Curious about them, I began making my way closer. Before I had taken more than a couple of steps, the taller of the two had already turned and begun watching me, a fake smile plastered on his face.

"Can I help you, miss?" His smooth voice carried to me easily, bringing a frown to my face as I looked at him.

"That is a good question, isn't it?" I asked him in turn, looking away from him as my gaze moved to the younger person beside him, a single blue eye capturing my attention easily.

I smiled slightly when I noticed the boy fidget as I stared at him, the smile vanishing quickly when his tall friend moved between us.

"Did you have business with either of us? If not, then I am afraid we must take our leave as we have much to do tonight." Peering around him, I gave a quick wave to the blue-eyed boy before looking back at the man with his gleaming red-brown eyes.

"Not yet, I'm afraid. But I'm sure I will see you around later!" Smiling at the slightly confused look on his face, I waved again and quickly walked past them, heading for a large tent down a different path than they were heading down.

--------

"So his name is Smile? Really? He doesn't seem to smile much, does he... Although I do agree, Black is a most fitting name for the tall guy, since it seems to match his personality." I grinned at the shy smile I had gotten from Snake in response to my words.

"Indeed it does... says Emily." I patted his white hair as I slowly stood up, enjoying the happiness I could feel coming from my friend.

"I should go give my greetings to Joker before he gets upset, thinking I am ignoring him." I shared one last smile with Snake before taking my leave and heading to yet another large tent.

--------

It was with great delight that I managed to surprise Joker when I slipped into his tent. The quiet laughter that escaped me when he had given a muted scream of shock had quickly brought an amused, if frustrated, smile to his face.

"Just make sure you don't try that stunt with Dagger, you know how upset he would be if he happened to hurt you by accident." I smiled and nodded at the red-head, silently promising to keep my tricks to those I knew wouldn't harm me by mistake if I should surprise them.

"I noticed you had a few new faces since I last visited you!" I smiled happily at him, eager to find out even more about the boy I had met, although I could hardly care less about the guy with him.

"Oh? It's not very often you take enough notice of our new talent to bother mentioning them. Usually you just wait until I introduce them to you. Which one do you have your eye on, (y/n)?" I could feel my face grow hot with embarrassment at his words.

"It's not as if I like the boy, he just seems interesting is all." I tried to defend myself, but the blush simply grew worse as I pictured his face, that blue eye looking back at me shyly.

"So you've met Smile then! Although he is not as skilled as his friend Black, I am sure he will get better as he becomes more comfortable among the group. Tell me, what are your thoughts on him?" I could tell by the look on his face, he was only partially teasing me, wanting to honestly know what I thought of the newest member.

"I'll tell you what, introduce me to all the new members and I will tell you my opinion on all of them." With a mischievous grin, I walked towards the tent's entry, knowing that Joker would follow close behind.

--------

Seeing the shock on the faces of Smile and Black had almost been worth the shiver I'd felt when I'd laid eyes on Suit. As much as I didn't care for Black, he was nothing compared to the creepy feeling I got whenever my gaze fell upon Suit and his strange green eyes. Leaning close to Joker, I whispered softly into his ear.

"I don't like Suit. He gives me the creeps, Joker. Looking in his eyes makes me feel like I just walked on someone's grave..." I almost flinched when Suit's eyes began gazing at me a little more intently than before, but there was no way he could have heard what was said about him.

"And the others?" Came the soft whisper of the man next to me.

"Black might be troublesome to deal with. His name suits him, both for looks and personality. But I have a feeling that Smile will be able to keep him in line, so all you need do is keep Smile at least mildly content and everything will be fine. As for Smile himself, he's interesting. I like interesting people." Smiling at Joker, I gave a small wave to the boy as Black smirked from beside him.

"So, we should be okay then with keeping them here?" Joker whispered one last time to me.

"Oh no, most likely if you keep all three for too long, at least one of them will end up being the death of you. But I can't honestly say which one, or how long you have." Smiling brightly at the shocked look on his face, I leaned over and gave him a small, friendly kiss on the cheek. "I wish you the best of luck on deciding who to keep a watch on, because at this point simply trying to kick them all out will likely just speed things along. I think I shall go say my hellos to the others now."

As I walked out of the tent, I knew that more than just Joker's eyes were following me.

--------

It seemed all too soon that I found myself in Doctor's tent, looking down at Smile as he lay coughing in bed. Frowning as Doctor talked about asthma and early childhood illnesses, I lay my hand against the boy's forehead, frowning at the heat I felt.

Grabbing a bowl, I left to get some cold water, ignoring the look on Doctor's frowning face. I'd never liked that guy to begin with, but he was one of the few people Joker ignored my warnings about. After having filled the bowl, I carefully made my way back to Doctor's tent, frowning when I found Doll sleeping next to the boy.

Sighing, I walked past the exiting Black and sat down next to the bed, grabbing a clean cloth and dunking it into the bowl of cold water. Within moments a cool, damp cloth was resting on the slightly feverish forehead of Smile.

"So, you like the boy I take it?" Doctor's quiet voice came from behind me, a chill running down my spine at his presence, worse in some ways than the chill I'd gotten from Suit.

"Does it matter either way? We both know that as long as I have any connection to this circus, I can't act on any feelings beyond friendship." Giving the man a disgusted look, I turned from him and ignored him for the rest of the time I spent in the tent.

"Just because you ignore it, doesn't mean it isn't there my dear girl." I frowned as I heard him move back to his desk.

--------

Frowning up at the tall man, I stepped closer to him and began whispering softly.

"If you plan on taking him out of here, do it now before something happens. I was only able to get Snake to delay telling the others for a while. By now, he may have said something to them, so it is best you leave quickly before they act against you. The others should all be at breakfast right now, even Doctor since I was staying behind until someone else came to watch over him." Turning away, I began walking out of the tent, speaking the next words at a normal level. "I'm afraid I need to go somewhere for a while. Do watch over Smile, please. His fever is not yet completely gone."

His soft laughter followed me for days after I'd left the circus, especially when I found out I had no reason to return after everyone vanished, Snake himself walking away and not coming back.

--------

It was weeks later that I found myself wandering in London and saw Snake, my eyes widening before I ran forward and nearly crashed into him as I grabbed him for a hug.

"Snake! What are you doing here? And why are you dressed like that?!" Pulling back, I gazed in wonder at the black and white uniform he wore. "Huh, it suits you well."

"(y/n)?" When I heard Smile's voice behind me, I felt like the whole world had frozen in place, not moving again until I turned around and saw him standing there with that bright blue eye staring back at me.

"Smile! You wouldn't believe how wonderful it is to see you again! Wait... Does that mean Black is here as well?" Although I had started out with a smile, by the end I could feel the frown pulling my lips downward.

"And where else would I be, but beside my Lord?" He simply grinned at the sigh I released, hearing his words.

"Well, at least I get to see Smile again, even if you are here as well, Black. But really, how did you end up in their company, Snake? I would not have expected such a thing to occur, although I am glad since it means I can see both of you at the same time!" Finally letting go of Snake's arm, I rushed forward and pulled Smile into a hug.

"My name is not Smile. It is-" He began, looking shocked when I placed a finger over his mouth.

"You can tell me your name later. For now, just let me be happy to see you alive and well. I think I might just like you, Smile." This time when I hugged him, I was pleasantly surprised when I felt his own arms ever so slightly tighten around me.

--------

Three weeks. It took three weeks before I could do it, day after day having been spent gathering everything I wanted and needed to make it happen. Food that he would enjoy, music to help set the mood, decorations and lights to make everything look just right. And most important of all, stray cats and kittens gathered from far and wide, cleaned up and ready to keep that constantly interfering butler of his distracted for as long as possible.

It was all worth it though, for a chance to finally tell Ciel what he had come to mean to me over the past few months. Even if he never returned my feelings, at least I would know that I had tried my best to let him understand how I felt towards him. And I would be happy, even if we only ever stayed as friends.

Watching as Ciel was lead into the carefully decorated garden by Snake, I anxiously watched his eyes grow wider as the musicians hidden behind the rose bushes began playing their instruments softly. Placing my shaking hands into my lap, I blushed slightly as I saw his eyes come to rest on me.

"I hope you don't mind having lunch with me like this... I'll understand it you don't-" I froze when I felt him place a finger on my lips to stop my words.

"I don't mind. I don't mind having lunch with you, (y/n). This is... nice, actually." My face was bright red at this point, the soft smile on his face making my heart skip a beat before it began to race in my chest.

I spent the entire meal in a daze, barely even able to taste the fancy foods I had gone out of my way to get ahold of for the boy I liked so much. The twinkling of the lights only made everything seem that much more magical as they reflected in his bright blue eye as the sound of his laughter seemed to echo around me. I can't even remember what I had just said to make him laugh like that, but I could only hope I would be able to do it again.

Taking a deep breath, I looked into his face and saw him grow still as he gazed back at me. I slowly reached out and grabbed his hand as I opened my mouth, words spilling out with very little thought.

"Ciel, I just wanted to get to show you, to tell you, how much I've come to care about you these past few months. No, since I met you as Smile. That first day, I started feeling something for you that I had never felt for anyone before. Since then, it has only grown stronger, almost overwhelming me at times. I understand if you don't feel the same, if you can't respond to me how I would like you to, but I still can't help loving you. I love you, Ciel. I'm happy to be able to feel something like this for you, even if it's just a one-sided feeling." I smiled at him, closing my eyes as I prepared to hear him deny me and say we would only, ever be friends.

"I'm sorry. I can't match your feelings. But if you give me enough time, I'm certain that the feelings I have for you will be able to match yours someday. After all, my love for you is still rather new to me. But if you will give me a chance, I'd be more than happy to see how strong it can become." My eyes flew open in shock, only to close again when I felt his lips tremble as they pressed against mine.